The Council of Europe's European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) today published its annual report, covering 2023, in which it presents conclusions relating to the visit to Portugal in May and June 2022 and the response of the national authorities to the problems identified concerning "frequent practices" of physical ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by police officers.

According to the CPT report, the visit to Portugal in 2022 revealed that the practice of ill-treatment by the police is frequent during the period of detention, including in police stations and GNR posts, and consists mainly of slaps, punches, baton blows and kicks after the person concerned has already been restrained by the security forces, also stating that the practice of handcuffing detainees to furniture in police stations persists.

The body collected several cases, "corroborated by medical reports of injuries" and asked Portugal for details on the corresponding disciplinary and criminal proceedings.

The CPT acknowledges that Portugal does not deny the existence of the problem and that the country has taken "some steps" to combat it, but states that "nevertheless, ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by police officers is a resilient phenomenon in Portugal and there is still some way to go in creating a sufficiently robust police culture to firmly reject and effectively sanction" such behaviour among the police.

For the CPT, the existence of "effective investigations" into allegations of ill-treatment "would serve as an important deterrent" for "police officers prone to ill-treating" and points out that the system for investigating alleged abuses "remains dysfunctional".

"For example, indications of potential ill-treatment by the police detected when a detainee enters a prison are usually recorded, but are often not promptly transmitted to the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration (IGAI) and the Public Prosecutor's Office. In addition, after these cases are reported, no immediate action is taken to initiate an investigation. Situations like this only serve to reinforce the perception of a 'de facto' impunity for police ill-treatment", warns the report.

For the body, the Portuguese authorities should request "an independent review of the current system for investigating allegations of ill-treatment by the police", which should "include protocols to ensure that whenever an incident of alleged ill-treatment occurs, or there are injuries that suggest this, they are referred for investigation by the prison system, and a member of the investigation team takes a statement from the person assaulted within 48 hours".

It should also determine whether a forensic medical examination is necessary and whether further investigative steps are required.

The report also highlights the "degrading" and "rapidly deteriorating" conditions of detention at the Lisbon Prison Establishment, stating that Portugal has reiterated its intention to close the prison by 2026.

Regarding the psychiatric clinic at the Santa Cruz do Bispo Prison Establishment, the CPT reiterates that finding alternative facilities or building new ones is a priority, as the current ones do not provide an adequate environment for the treatment of psychiatric patients.

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